KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 6): Malaysia Border Control and Protection Agency will be given access to the CCTV control room at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to strengthen security monitoring across its two terminals.

The move will provide a surveillance network of more than 5,000 cameras focused on passenger operations and beyond the agency’s current coverage at immigration entry and exit checkpoints, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.

“This has already been agreed upon,” he said. “We are now at the administrative stage to enable it to operate,” he said.

Further, the agency will install more cameras at identified blind spots in the next phase of the government’s airport security improvements, Saifuddin said. However, he did not disclose the number of additional cameras, cost, or timeline.

Saifuddin was responding to Kota Bharu member of Parliament Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, who raised concerns about internal sabotage, referring to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s Op Crack investigation into the alleged hacking of the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMS).

Authorities are reportedly investigating potential involvement of immigration personnel, including information technology officers, alongside private-sector individuals, foreigners and a police officer in the unlawful issuance of 1,306 temporary employment visit passes.

The syndicate allegedly exploited unused quotas dating back to 2011 to issue the passes without paying the required levies.

Saifuddin highlighted that the investigation originated from the Immigration Department’s own intelligence gathering. Information was subsequently referred to the anti-graft agency after possible elements of corruption were identified, leading to the arrests.

“That is why coordination of intelligence is important,” he said. “We cannot operate only within our own silos. The focus now is on sharing information when we assess that there is a threat, not only to security but also to integrity.”

MyIMMS has been in use for nearly three decades and is gradually being replaced by the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe). Procurement had been completed and the transition was under way, with a rollout targeted for the first quarter of 2027.

The upgrade was intended to address weaknesses in the legacy system, ageing infrastructure and maintenance, alongside personnel-related issues at the existing system, Saifuddin added. 

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